Lent: Day 1

I promised myself, not to mention that I also promised God,  that I would give up stress for Lent. As a valuable sacrifice to him -a way to make myself more in his likeness or to become a better servant, but also as a sacrifice to myself -the demolition of a disgusting coping crutch. A crutch that causes heart burn, the inability to sleep at night, paralyzer of communication and motivation. Yes -I want to get rid of the nasty thing. And the desire alone has created a deeper sense of awareness, showing me how truly volatile stress is to my body and mind. For example....

Yesterday, I found myself looking at a comprehensive health analysis done by a doc that specializes in restorative health. For years, I've felt awful pretty much every day. Some days it's been emotional, and some days it's been physical. Not surprisingly, the analysis told me I was in pretty bad shape. The surprising news is that I have dairy and gluten allergies, and difficulties processing meat protein leading to the suggestion that I become a vegetarian who occasionally eats chicken. It may not come as a surprise to you to know that I immediately declared that I was dying, being completely overwhelmed by the largesse and gravity of the lifestyle changes that lay before me. Instantaneously, I had a headache and the nasty desire to pick a fight.

You see, the women in my family don't shy away from confrontation...even when there isn't any. Mountains out of mole hills, the lot of us.

But -adversely, these things like headaches and unreasonable aggression aren't side effects of genetics (at least, I don't believe so in my circumstance). They're side effects of stress.

So after a pep talk from the Mommah (read: a failed attempt at being a drama queen), some crying, and some poorly managed coping on my behalf, I had a plan, groceries that won't make me puff up or feel bad, and a new perspective (in which I am Lizzy in P&P and real life is Mr. Darcy...). But -that's a story for a different day.

So on Lent: Day 1, I promise to myself to take action in STOPPING stress.

-xo-